1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spiral drive mechanism and a spin mop using the same and more particularly to a spiral drive mechanism which can be fabricated in a rapid, efficient and cost-effective manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cleaning a floor with a mop and bucket is a basic household cleaning chore. However, cleaning floors with a traditional mop and bucket can be really tiring and hard work. The mop needs continual rewetting in the bucket and wringing out the mop by hand twisting the strings of the mop head. To turn the cleaning job to one that is quick and easy, some disclose a spin mop, which allows a user to clean the floor with relatively little effort. Specifically, the spin mop is equipped with a spinning device to spin a mop head of the spin mop so as to draw liquid away from the strings of the mop head by a centrifugal force generated by rotation of the mop head.
As shown in FIG. 13, a conventional spin mop 900 is equipped with a spiral drive mechanism, a lower rod 94 and a mop head 95. The spiral drive mechanism generally includes a tube body 90, a guide screw 91 placed within the tube body 90, a pin 93 and a follower 92 to which the lower rod 94 and the mop head 95 are connected. The tube body 90 is formed with a series of knobs 901 in an inner peripheral wall for spiral movement of the guide screw 91. The follower 92 is connected to the guide screw 91 by means of the pin 93 such that when the guide screw 91 moves in a spiral direction with respect to the tube body 90, the follower 92 rotates with the guide screw 91 so as to have the lower rod 94 and the mop head 95 spin. In this manner, liquid can be extracted out from the strings of the mop head 95 by a centrifugal force generated by rotation of the mop head 95.
However, the aforementioned spiral drive mechanism cannot be easy to manufacture because the knobs 901 can be hardly formed in a tubular body with metal material by molding in order to form the tube body 90. In practice, two half shells with knobs 901 thereon will have to be provided first by molding and then be weld together so as to form the tube body 90. Alternatively, the metal tube body 90 with knobs 901 may be replaced by a plastic tube body which is less difficult to make by molding; however, the strength of the plastic tube body is relatively weaker than that of the metal tube body.